Featuring MethaneSAT -Trace And Quantify Methane Emissions For Combating Climate Change

Hello, Everyone!

With every year global warming is on the rise due to greenhouse gases such as Methane, Water Vapour, HFCs, Nitrogen Trifluoride (NF3), Sulphurhexaflouride, and Nitrous Oxide leading to the greenhouse effect out of which Methane is the chief contributor.

Therefore to curtail methane emissions here's featuring methaneSAT - a satellite to trace and quantify methane emissions.

But before moving on to Methane Sat one question strikes us right away what are greenhouse gases, what is global warming and why is methane so potent at causing global warming?

Therefore it is imperative to delve into the fundamentals of it.

Greenhouse Gases:

These are the gases existing in the Earth's atmosphere that trap heat. They allow the sunlight to transit the atmosphere and retain solar heat by stopping the heat from further leaving the atmosphere.

The primary greenhouse gases are:Water Vapour,Carbondioxide(CO2),Nitrous Oxide(N2O),Methane(CH4),Hydrofluorocarbons(HFCs),Sulphurhexaflouride(SF6),Nitrogentrifluoride(NF3) and Water Vapour.

Greenhouse Effect:

It is a process through which solar heat originating from sunlight is prevented from getting reflected into space by getting absorbed by the greenhouse gases and thereby heating the Earth's surface.

Methane (CH4):

It is a highly potent greenhouse gas 80 times more powerful than CO2 at global warming. Besides that Methane is also a chief contributor to the formation of an airborne toxin as well as a greenhouse gas, the ground layer of Ozone. According to a report by UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), Ozone contact causes about 1 million premature deaths annually. Methane has led to about 30% of global warming since pre-industrialization and is increasing at a faster rate by the time the record-keeping started in the early 1980s.

Lastly, we should be well acquainted with why the rise in Earth's temperature is a matter of global concern. Well, it has various devastating effects on climate as it contributes to climate change by increasing the temperature of the Earth's surface; and on the environment such as melting glaciers and polar ice, global warming leading to an increase in sea levels causing hurricanes and floods, and harm to terrestrial and marine biodiversity; global warming disproportionately affects marginalized people and developing countries who already are dealing with limited resources to combat the consequences of climate change.

Therefore there is a dire need to trace methane emissions and the leading source i.e. fossil fuels owing to 40% of all the emissions which are human-based emissions. So here's featuring MethaneSAT a satellite that will trace and quantify methane emissions. It will gauge the amount of methane emissions, and the emission point, inform the emitters, and keep a tight vigil on the trend of the emissions,i.e. are the emissions rising or decreasing, aiding policymakers, researchers, and well public to make enlightened decisions regarding the emission mitigation strategies.MethaneSat was deployed on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from California on March 4, 2024.

MethaneSAT orbiting Earth

Pic Source: EOPortal

The satellite is designed by EDF(Environmental Defense Fund- a noncharitable organization) in collaboration with prestigious scientific institutions like Harvard University, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and the New Zealand Space Agency.

Now let's uncover the features of groundbreaking MethaneSAT.

1. Even though the satellite gives the impression of a satellite, it is not the maiden satellite launched into space; it holds its uniqueness by not only providing details but also posing a wider span of view than any satellites previously launched into space.
   

2. While carefully monitoring the oil and gas sector, the satellite will orbit around the Earth 15 times.

3. A generous amount of data will be generated by it which will detail the quantity of methane emissions originating, what is the source point of the emissions, and the higher and the lower trend of the emissions.

4. The trove of data archived by Methane SAT will be made accessible to the public in the near time aiding stakeholders, and policy regulators to imply rigorous methodologies to curtail methane emissions.

5. As time has gone by, it's been demanding work to trace the source point of the methane emissions and quantify the methane emissions. Diverse experiences have been witnessed for satellites orbiting in space to furnish us with the data of the sites or sources of emissions regarding the measure of emissions and the analytics of the emissions trend, we mean if the emissions are on a higher scale or they are decreasing. Few satellites can supply high-definition or high-resolution data but are confined to only pre-targeted sites while as per the EDF, some satellites can trace broader areas and spot large emission occurrences but cannot trace minor sources that contribute significantly to emissions in a multitude of regions if not widespread. Due to this inconsistency, there has been a rise in amounts of methane emissions by 70% than figures provided by the national governments. But this inconsistency can be addressed by MethaneSAT effectively.

6. It is provisioned with a high-resolution sensor and spectrometer which enables it to diligently recognize methane levels as minute as three parts per billion by bridging vital data gaps, because of which it outshines other satellites by tracing smaller emission sources. Installed with a camera of dimensions 200 by 200 km it spots larger emissions -super emitters. MethaneSAT is highly committed to transparency. The data archived will be further examined by leveraging AI technology and cloud computing engineered by Google, which is an allied partner in the mission, and the data examined will be made accessible to all through the Google Earth Engine platform as per the report by the New York Times. By far we are well acquainted with all the intricate details in the pretext of its features. Now we will be concentrating on the significance of transparency to which MethaneSAT is committed:
   

   1. One of the most captivating features of MethaneSAT is it will embark on openness and accountability.

   2. By giving open access to its data through platforms like Google Earth Engine, MethaneSAT aids governments, stakeholders, and others to take responsibility for ebbing methane emissions.

   3. This open accessibility not only allows adhering to global agreements such as the Global Methane Pledge inked by 150 countries in 2021 to curtail global emissions by 30% and the Global Methane Pledge at COP-28 held last year in Dubai signed by 50 companies belonging to the oil and gas sector like Saudi Aramco and 29 others aiming to curtail carbon emissions by 2050 and to mitigate their methane emissions to net -zero by 2030. However, Methane SAT accessibility's impact on polluters remains uncertain.

So, conclusively we feel that although MethaneSAT does not guarantee the mitigation of emissions by emitters still it is a great initiative towards fighting climate change by encouraging the ebbing of methane emissions globally.

Thank You.

References:

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-climate/methanesat-satellite-methane-emmissions-9197297/